You may remember Michael Schumacher saying that individual race wins didn't mean much to him - championships do.

When I started racing Motocross in the mid 70's, the AMA had not encompassed local racing, and on the west coast it was the domain of CMC. There were Junior, Intermediate, and Pro classes in 125, 250, and Open, and a few other classes for Mini's and such. Championships were Regional, and meant something, though I never looked past each race weekend. What really meant something was to go on the AMA National trail - a trail that happened to lead to a championship that could mean something.

During the years I raced, my area turned out 2 National Champions (Rick Burgett and Chuck Sun), and a Privateer of the Year (Mark Gregson). One night at PIR, when I was a Pro, sitting at the gate, and looked to the side at a returning/visiting Burgett, I respected him. Then I pulled the holeshot and we dropped the pack. Rick probed me for a few laps and then set me up for a devastatingly fast pass on the outside of tight kink. I learned alot chasing him the rest of that moto.

I also learned how Championships don't matter, or perhaps more so when they don't matter. Which is most of the time.

The other nite I was at the Oregon Region SCCA Awards Banquet. We shared a table with one of my clubmates and one of his EP friend/competitors, and Greg Bell. Greg is this years RS Champion. This year that championship means something to him. He says he had the best racing of his career last year. I went to the banquet primarily so I could applaud him when he was recognized. I like and respect Greg.

What makes the difference in a championship is how hard you have to work for it. My RS championship last year meant a little something to me in that it was a nice way to start racing cars. It also meant something because I had some good drives. To the extent that I didn't have really tough racing it didn't mean so much though. And to the extent that I'm a little fish in a small pond it really didn't mean so much.

One of the things that tuned me off when the AMA took over local motocross sanctions was the way they increased the number of classes and hence championships. If you've been around any kind of popular competition, including SCCA, you have probably had similar thoughts. The number of times I've found myself in a conversation with a stranger and gotten to hear all about how fast they are and how they're the XXXX Champion is ridiculous.

The one that takes the cake is when the son of an acquaintance was telling me all about how Jeff Stanton was his idol and how dedicated he was, and how he was in a fight for "a championship". I inquired a bit and found out that he didn't even race, and that his championship was between him and his friends in some vacant lot grand prix series. I was floored.

It's pretty common to see oversized self images in any walk of life. But I just happen to have seen them in my life mostly in motorsports.

I've seen some outrageous writing concerning the East Coast Honda Challenge and the ARRC. I can understand being excited about your racing. I can't understand the propensity of some to overinflate the importance of these events and the associated championships. I've never belittled the ECHC, and consider some of the participants to be friends. But as ponds go it's extremely small, and the idea of some of the participants putting on airs, and talking big **** is preposterous.

Some, maybe even most, ECHC and NASA racers have a hard on for the SCCA. SCCA Regional drivers often have a hard on for National Drivers. Shitting on the Runoffs in the course of exclaiming the glory of competing in the ARRC just comes off so badly. Isn't just having a good time good enough?

One of the things I look for in a great champion is a sense of humility. Confidence is different than Arrogance. I detest the arrogant racer, and delight in taking them down. I've raced alot of people over my careers that have been surprisingly fast. And I've finished behind guys I neither respected or liked.

It may have been Jackie Stewart who said that there was probably a kid in a remote village in India who could best him as a racing driver, but for the kids lack of opportunity. This is a charming way of saying that there's always somebody faster.

Life is maybe nothing more than an opportunity for us to find meaning. The feelings expressed sometimes on this board by some of the racers is demeaning to all of us.

Scott, who races next year for each race, and the meaning that I find in my own experience...everything else is just what happens...

 

Like it or not, Scott is right. It's mostly just for bragging rights.

HC is small. The fields are small. That doesn't mean the racing isn't close, but there's a difference between being a big fish in a little pond and a shark in an ocean.

Some of the fields at ARRC are small, but some of them are filled with fast cars and faster drivers.

In the end, we're just a bunch of club racers trying to have some fun. Which to me, means close racing with cars that are about as fast ( or slow ) as I am. And yeah, I do want that $3 trophy...

Warren

 

I think that Scott needs to go racing, anyone else agree with me?

Austin

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Warren &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Like it or not, Scott is right. It's mostly just for bragging rights.

HC is small. The fields are small. That doesn't mean the racing isn't close, but there's a difference between being a big fish in a little pond and a shark in an ocean.

Some of the fields at ARRC are small, but some of them are filled with fast cars and faster drivers.

In the end, we're just a bunch of club racers trying to have some fun. Which to me, means close racing with cars that are about as fast ( or slow ) as I am. And yeah, I do want that $3 trophy...

Warren</TD></TR></TABLE>


cheerio mate...well put...

often it is others that put worth on the weekends we spend racing....after coming back from a 3rd and 1st finish at beaver run the locals would come in and ask how i did....well 3rd and 1st i told them....then came the next question...where's the trophy!?!?!?

this year i raced for dave my sponsor overall, for myself it was lap times....if only i could improve over my previous times....

i don't know what next year will bring, but i will have fun that is for sure!

 

Small pond syndrome is in everything. Perhaps its just the people ( The type of folks you were refering to) you dislike...or dislike how they are once their either in the car or on the track.

Im not in your guys shoes...just a local autocrosser (well maybe local is an understatment...) But were in a major small pond and I think everyone knows that. Its fun to get a first place finish here becuase we group everyone together...so your up against 30 drivers instead of maybe 15...only time I did that was in Colo. Springs there was 200 drivers total.

Actually Im the kinda guy that doesn't like the attention that winning brings...people always ask questions about your driving and set-up etc. When your not up top they just walk on by. Dont get me wrong I love talking...pretty much do it for a living lol.

Btw I like Trophys also...But locally we dont do that.

Ive had lots of hobbys and have come across folks like that everywhere...o well

 

Yup, it's a $2 trophy but you would be surprised..........

1) How much cheating people are willing to engage in
2) How much money people are willing to throw at a $2 trophy
3) How many times people are willing to knock someone off the track and risk killing someone.............

Just to get that $2 trophy.

Makes you wonder how some people would act if their was serious prize money involved or some F1 Pit babes!

Regards,

J. Kofod

 

I have read many of Scott’s posts and have often found them to be insightful or at least entertaining. But this one I find insulting.

It’s not that I take offense to anyone’s dislike of arrogant drivers. Personally I like to race against cocky drivers. Like Scott says it’s fun to take down people who think they are the ****. Granted, it sucks to loose to somebody that’s going to go on the net Monday morning and talk about how bad *** they are and how much you suck. But that’s a lot more likely to get you in the garage Monday night than somebody that says “Oh, I was just lucky today, we are all just a bunch of happy guys.” Being cocky comes at a price though, as everybody knows the higher you put yourself up the further you’re going to get knocked down. But that makes things interesting, which is something that Honda Challenge really needs to be right now if we want more press and sponsors. That said people love humble drivers too so do what you gotta do. I’m still the most bad *** driver in Honda Challenge regardless, but if you want to build an H1 car and come battle for second place, more power to you.

That’s not what inspired me to reply though. Two weeks ago at the Sears Point event I sealed the Championship for the So Cal WCHC H1 Class. Since then I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it is worth and what it means. Mostly I’ve been thinking about what it’s worth, since I cannot afford to race on my own income and depend on sponsorship to race. So I’ve been busy at SEMA selling Honda Challenge and the championship trying to make it seem as valuable as possible. At this point I’m not really sure what the Championship is worth but I think I can tell you what it means, to me at least.

I used to think that championships were sort of stupid. The winner was the slow rich guy that would come out and collect points at every race and eventually win the championship. Meanwhile the real racers would come to what races they could and smoke his ***. But for reasons like blown motors or not having money for tires or whatever they wouldn’t make all the races and they wouldn’t take the stupid championship.

Last year I tried to win the TCRA MA Championship and failed. In my own head I downplayed it since Sandor’s car was prepared better than mine. This year I tried harder with a lot of help from my friends. But this year the competition was even tougher. Almost every weekend was spent working on the car, trying to make it faster. But at each event I still had to fight for every position because my competitors spent their weekends wrenching too. My team was paying a lot of costs in both time and money. My team manager Shaun K. was constantly rounding up parts for the cars. My teammate Tom Liang made probably the biggest sacrifice. A few events in, the points were so close that we decided to focus on making my car win. I got the ITR manifold, and fresh tires, and spherical bearings while his car stayed slow. Plus there were countless other people from Hybrids.jp that donated parts and time to help me win.

Winning the Championship was ******* hard! Attending every event of the season is hard. Having a competitive car is even harder. Keeping your team from killing you is hard. Over the course of this year I really realized what Sandor Bota and Andy Sites had accomplished in the years before me. This Championship took my whole life for a year. I really can’t imagine Michael Schumacher working that much harder for one of his championships. And I would not dare to discredit the Championships of the ECHC or ARRC or Runoffs.

As far as the whole Honda Challenge drivers all having a stiffy for the SCCA goes, I think you’re way off. Not to take anything away from the drivers, but I didn’t see any formula V’s at SEMA. However at least one H1 car was there. And I saw a few that could be running with us soon.

Andy Hope,
2003 WCHC H1 CHAMPION

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
It may have been Jackie Stewart who said that there was probably a kid in a remote village in India who could best him as a racing driver, but for the kids lack of opportunity. This is a charming way of saying that there's always somebody faster.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Frank Williams said there are probably 100 Chinese guys riding bicycles that have the talent to be F1 champions.

I haven't won any championships myself (video game races don't count!) but I remember a Jacques Villeneuve interview where he said something along the lines of a championship meaning you did a good job for that particular year but weren't necessarily the best driver. At least that's what I think he said. I gotta look up that old issue of Autosport or F1 Racing.

 

the championship. what is important about the championship isn't even the championship itself. it's the hard work and dedication that it took to get there. hell, my father wasn't ever a championship club racer, but there is one story in particular that he is quite fond of telling me about. it involves a tight battle to qualify for the runoffs with charlie clark.

what is funny is how most of the story is about how long he worked on the car, how many nights were spent in the garage, and how he worked right up until he had to leave for the run-offs. he never mentions anything about the runoffs, only the path to the runoffs. he was mid-pack at best in the runoffs.

i've heard that story from my dad a thousand times, yet i don't get tired of it. that was an accomplishment that he worked hard for and he was proud of.

the arrogant champion, there will always be one. but sometimes people who we think are arrogant champions are really just basking the glory of winning something they had worked so hard for. i can think of a plenty of these people in the autocross world. but after the dust settles and i look closer most of these people deserved to win, and deserve to celebrate and say "I worked harder, I was more dedicated, and I just plain went faster than everyone else."

and we all know that a championship is more than just a $2 dollar trophy. hell, i only got a 5th place trophy this year at nationals and I'm still beaming about it.

 

An acquaintance of mine recently surprised me by venting something like the following:

"I only missed the championship by a few points, and I worked really hard, and I didn't get squat for it. They should give an award for 2nd place. I deserve it."

I honestly didn't know what to say to that.

Go ahead and take pride in your hard won championship Andy. Congratulations. I don't see any reason why you should be insulted or see my commentary as belittling your championship. Pursuit of sponsorship is an entirely legitimate application of such a credential.

Here's a question - if you took that championship with just as much effort, but you never won a race because everyone who beat you had poor reliability or attendance would it mean as much to you?

And another - If you were in the last race and taking second would secure your title over the race leader would you cruise to 2nd and the championship, or would you race?

And another - How does your championship compare to somebody elses? Are you a better driver than the ECHC H1 Champion? The ARRC ITS Champion? The WCTC Champion?

And another - If someone comes along in a similar car and hands you your *** so bad it leaves you in shock, what's your championship worth? Don't doubt that it could happen.

I think that goals in racing as in life are personal. Some have modest goals, and some have ridiculous goals. Some people are on an inner journey, and some worship idols.

I'm just talking.

Scott, who doesn't happen to care too much about championships so much as personal excellence and fullfillment....and having a good time with good people like Greg...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've seen some outrageous writing concerning the East Coast Honda Challenge and the ARRC. I can understand being excited about your racing. I can't understand the propensity of some to overinflate the importance of these events and the associated championships.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Since I’ve participated in both, it’s just natural for me to bite on this one. But hey it’s the off season for most, so it’s that time again to do the talking instead of the racing!

I’ll just address the ARRC since it seemed to be one of the two main key topics that your whole post is based on. Since it’s definitely not on the same level as the Runoffs, it’s only normal for people to be miss informed as to what it actually is. First of all, it’s not a championship race and the winner is not national champion. It’s just one race at the end of a season that facilitates - IMO quite well for a regional series - a venue where the 20+ car fields in most classes can race, but more importantly are made up of drivers actually coming from other regions. In most regular IT races, the 10-20+ drivers showing up are usually the same ones you’ve been racing all year. It’s a given that if the ARRC would be anywhere near as prestigious as the Runoffs, fields would be even bigger and most importantly – be made up of even more drivers from other regions. But as it has been this year, it’s just an IT race where everyone who runs it puts all their cards on the table. It makes for quite a competitive racing environment compared to the regular IT race. It also brought along 27 contingency sponsors for this event this year and the IT classes seemed to have about half of their fields made up of drivers from other regions, some from as far as Nova Scotia (Canada) in ITB. Since I’m familiar with the ITA race, there were some very good drivers this year with 10+ years of racing experience each including current and past WC participant among the 20+ A cars running last weekend. The speed at the front showed this as any of the top four Hondas in the top five cars that completed the first lap ran a pace that could have won the ARRC SPU race as well. (So much for a SPU Honda can’t beat the baby grand theory!) The speed of the winning B, C and S cars was also very impressive and I would be very curious to see how they would stack up compared to any IT car in the country and not against just those who came down to compete. The disadvantage for most (but a huge advantage for me! ) is that this race takes place in GA and makes for a really long trip for those not on the east coast. Still that didn’t stop the west coast ITA champ from coming down last year and the NE region champ from coming this year to play. It’s definitely a real treat to be able to run against these guys who come from other regions and the ARRC is one of the few amateur races out there that facilitates this, at least to some degree.

RR98ITR, I am quite unfamiliar with the racing and class that you do in your region, so I am not sure by what standards you compare the ARRC to. Please tell me what class you run in and how many cars you run against so I can better understand where you are coming from. Maybe each one of your races attracts 20+ cars in your class with half or more of the field coming other regions, I don’t know. If yes, then it explains your point of view of the ARRC as just another regular race. You are really lucky because I would just love to be able to race all year long against such fast guys at every race. It really is satisfying, regardless of finishing position, and such races are great learning experiences.

And to address the title of this thread, although it brought less personal satisfaction than doing well at the ARRC, we were able to win a championship this year that pretty much covered all my racing expenses this season (including autox) after I added them up. In this particular case, yeah this one meant a whole lot!


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I look for in a great champion is a sense of humility. Confidence is different than Arrogance. I detest the arrogant racer, and delight in taking them down. I've raced alot of people over my careers that have been surprisingly fast. And I've finished behind guys I neither respected or liked.

It may have been Jackie Stewart who said that there was probably a kid in a remote village in India who could best him as a racing driver, but for the kids lack of opportunity. This is a charming way of saying that there's always somebody faster</TD></TR></TABLE>

Now with these two, I can’t agree more!

 

Championships mean what they mean to different people for different reasons and varying circumstances.

I’m sure there are hundreds local racers that have had hard-fought points battles all the way through the season and had it all decided at the last race of the year. I’m sure many of these point’s chases were very close, so for the winner, it’s probably a pretty big deal (small pond or not). I’d rather not take that away from them.

Personally, I won our local Solo-II FSP season championship, and the Solo-I ITC season championship, but I’m not as excited about it as I normally would be. I didn’t have much ITC competition until late in the season, so the points were basically already decided. All I had to do was show up for the last double.

In FSP, I owe my championship to a fellow classmate, and I’ve let him know that multiple times. He offered his car when mine was broken. Without his offer I wouldn’t have the minimum number of events to qualify for season trophies.

Even though they’re shallow and small victories, don’t take them away from me. I keep things in perspective well enough.



Modified by johng at 9:29 AM 11/12/2003

 

I still think I can kick the **** out of anyone in an equally prepped car.

Championships.... BLAH.... I am in it for the women.

 

Alex,

I'm not interested in biting.

And I don't see the relevance of your longest paragraph.

At this years ARRC only 3 or 4 of you in ITA were even close enough for a race. There were about 10 drivers within a second on their fast race laps in SM.

Sometimes it seems to me that if a person really wanted to win a drivers championship they'd race SRF or SM.

Scott, who isn't trying to belittle anyone's championships, but who is registering disapproval of some arrogant statements...but you are free to misinterpret as you like.

 

Why you feel it necessary to devalue the efforts of others is beyond me. As someone who has recently been building "seasons" out of one race, I really wouldn't expect you to value a championship much... how could you.

 

I like what you've done with the place, really. Basically what's important
to RR98ITR is the important defacto standard and really anything else is
pretty much hackerdom b.s. So a guy that comes home after every race
weekend to write up his 81 page treatise of "how I spent my summer vacation"
decides that ECHC discussions are nothing more than arrogance filled by
hacks that simply want to go SCCA racing. And that we have unjustly
populated the e-waves with ALL our discussions about the ARRC - oh my,
that's rich brother, no really, you got us there, we've just prattled on and
on about that - good G-d we are such bastards. RRguy, I never have found
reason to hold an ant's dick worth of respect for you and this ... well, you
just went over the top with your basic premise of "YOU GUY'S" championships
and race stories are without posting merrit and YOU GUY'S discussions of
racing supremacy is a crock but me, little ole me, well let me tell you what
I have won. Good Lord man, go stick your head back up your *** and think
about the asinine hypocrite championship speech you need to give after this.
You certainly won it fair and square and believe me, no one dropped out so
that you could take the prize! Then again, maybe you won't be able to enjoy
your success because in effect, so few were in the race.

In the end, I am just a "ticket puncher" here so all I could possibly be able to
note was the qualify of the frame I used to hold up my "I was there" memories
of a race weekend. Please RRguy, excuse all of us for our horribly inappropriate
forray into your world of self-import - I am sure now that we have been educated
on how little we actually matter we will all retire to our dens if solitude to read
your next wonderful tale of success and racing prominence.

Keep up the good work. You certainly are, in the end, a true Champion.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Since it’s definitely not on the same level as the Runoffs, it’s only normal for people to be miss informed as to what it actually is.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's how I started off the longest paragraph. Since it seemed you considered the ARRC, which has nothing to do with a championship, relevant enough to mention it in your original post about championships, I considered the possibility that you were one of the miss informed.

It's good that you mention the SM race. I just remembered after my post that I never mentioned that race. What a race! With 37 cars and such close racing, the ARRC SM race could very easily be the best race out of a Runoffs weekend, if only will be made a national class. It was an awesome race to watch.

Back to the A race, 5th through 7th crossed the finish line with only 2 tenths of a second separating all three of them. Sorry that it doesn't meet your expectations, but that's close competitive racing in my book.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">At this years ARRC only 3 or 4 of you in ITA were even close enough for a race.</TD></TR></TABLE>

2.4 seconds separated the top 4 cars at the line and a lot less than that throughout most of the race. Positions were swapped many times. I'm curious, what do you consider a close race?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I'm not interested in biting.</TD></TR></TABLE>
But you already have.

 

Fine, I'll play the big deal game too.

You guys are right.

The East Coast Honda Challenge is the Premier Showcase for Racing in the United States!

Anyone who would race a Honda anywhere else is stupid! (That's actually a direct quote).

I only wish I could learn to really drive a race car from you Masters. And maybe you could teach me to read too.

Scott, who loves the way some of you guys read...Anything subtle is apparently lost on you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The East Coast Honda Challenge is the Premier Showcase for Racing in the United States!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

and don't you ******* forget it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phat-S &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I like what you've done with the place, really. Basically what's important
to RR98ITR is the important defacto standard and really anything else is
pretty much hackerdom b.s. So a guy that comes home after every race
weekend to write up his 81 page treatise of "how I spent my summer vacation"
decides that ECHC discussions are nothing more than arrogance filled by
hacks that simply want to go SCCA racing. And that we have unjustly
populated the e-waves with ALL our discussions about the ARRC - oh my,
that's rich brother, no really, you got us there, we've just prattled on and
on about that - good G-d we are such bastards. RRguy, I never have found
reason to hold an ant's dick worth of respect for you and this ... well, you
just went over the top with your basic premise of "YOU GUY'S" championships
and race stories are without posting merrit and YOU GUY'S discussions of
racing supremacy is a crock but me, little ole me, well let me tell you what
I have won. Good Lord man, go stick your head back up your *** and think
about the asinine hypocrite championship speech you need to give after this.
You certainly won it fair and square and believe me, no one dropped out so
that you could take the prize! Then again, maybe you won't be able to enjoy
your success because in effect, so few were in the race.

In the end, I am just a "ticket puncher" here so all I could possibly be able to
note was the qualify of the frame I used to hold up my "I was there" memories
of a race weekend. Please RRguy, excuse all of us for our horribly inappropriate
forray into your world of self-import - I am sure now that we have been educated
on how little we actually matter we will all retire to our dens if solitude to read
your next wonderful tale of success and racing prominence.

Keep up the good work. You certainly are, in the end, a true Champion.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Your post makes me sad Adam.

You paint me as having belittled the entire ECHC when I haven't. Over the last couple of years I've been as supportive as a guy thousands of miles away could be. It's a fact - look it up.

You characterize me as attacking all of you ("YOU GUY'S")- which I haven't. Again, go back and read.

You characterize me as self important. This is apparently based on the volume of my writing. Please dig a little deeper and quote my self important utterances. You should be able to find lots of nuggets like "I'm so much faster than all of you". I'll wait.

Funny - I've never done anything to you, and enjoyed your more creative writing. You may think me an idiot for not understanding why you attack me so viciously, but I don't understand.

Scott, who's not going to waste any more time on you though...as someone I really look up to on the board would say "Good Luck".

 

I'm usually not into hero worship, but I think I just found one! Thank you Phat-S.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JeffS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why you feel it necessary to devalue the efforts of others is beyond me. As someone who has recently been building "seasons" out of one race, I really wouldn't expect you to value a championship much... how could you. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Maybe you don't understand because I wasn't.

Scott, who maybe if I had, then I could understand why you've devalued me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DB1-R81 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm usually not into hero worship, but I think I just found one! Thank you Phat-S.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This from a guy who stole one of my technical posts and posted it on another board as his own.

Scott, who is not enjoying this, but it's interesting...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I think that goals in racing as in life are personal. Some have modest goals, and some have ridiculous goals. Some people are on an inner journey, and some worship idols.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with Scott. Like any sport, racing is a test of onesself. At first against ourselves, and then eventally against our rivals. We are competitors.

I am of the opinion that real competitors don't taunt. There is so much besides your personal skill that goes into a championship. The best hockey player in the world can know he is good(Jagr), but also knows that his championship(Stanley Cup) is NEVER a sure thing. He knows he has 88 games where he has to maintain focus and drive in everyplay he is in to even hope to have a chance. And even the team that wins is going to lose a good third of their games. It takes more than being "good" to be a champoin.

A real Champion is dignified in winning and losing. A Champion should be a bear in competition and a friend when not. Most importantly a real champion understands that his championship is not his alone, for without his competitors, there would be no championship at all. So a real Champion is an accomplishment of us all, and to crown one in your class is to say "Here is the best effort of us all".

That said, I generally don't like smack talking(unless it is occasional between good friends) and I definately don't like to see people putting down other racers, even en masse. It only undermines the one trash-talking to belittle the skills of his competition. At the podium, would you say "I only won because the rest of the field sucks! My bumper is all they'll ever see!"? No. A victory over a lesser is not a victory at all.

For people with high aspirations, if you ever DO go to indy or Le Mans. Remember that you didn't get there because YOU were good, you got there because WE ALL were good and pushed you to achieve.

 

Hello RR98ITR,

You Wrote; "This from a guy who stole one of my technical posts and posted it on another board as his own."

http://www.improvedtouring.com/ is down at the moment so I can't retrieve the post. Yes I posted some of your calculated wheel rates; beyond this in no way did I take credit for the numbers or copy your "technical posts".

Classic RR98ITR,

"And Phil Hill is just a bitch. He really should quit taking people up on the offer to get in front of a camera, and just stick to the written word."




Modified by DB1-R81 at 11:21 AM 11/12/2003